Is There Another Dolores In ‘Westworld’? Arnold’s Favorite Host Could Have A Doppel In Another Park

During the "Akane No Mai" episode of Westworld, Maeve, Hector, and Armistice found themselves seeing double in Shogun World. Narrative Department head Lee Sizemore revealed that he has borrowed stories between the parks and thus, created "doppelbots." Maeve and Akane share the same narrative, so could there be another Dolores in Westworld? With the Mariposa madam and Sweetwater bandits having doubles, there could very well be the equivalent of a homesteader's daughter in the Japanese Shogun World or even in another park. Yet, based on her self-awareness and the tinkering Robert Ford and Arnold Weber have done to her, Dolores is most likely one of a kind.

In "Akane No Mai," Armistice was the first Westworld host to realize that the Shogun World hosts are mirrors of them. "I may have cribbed a little bit from Westworld," Sizemore admitted before justifying his actions. "Well, you try writing 300 stories in three weeks." He further explained to Maeve, "The narrative bones of this place are just like Westworld." But Maeve pointed out, "For the record, it's not just the narrative bones that are identical. You've plagiarized our stories, our identities." And Maeve is right. Akane is not only the head geisha, but she's motivated to protect her daughter-like figure Sakura — just like Maeve is motivated to protect her own daughter.

John P. Johnson/HBO

However, "Akane No Mai" doesn't make it clear if every Westworld character has a counterpart in Shogun World (or in any other world). And while Lee certainly used a lot of Westworld to inspire Shogun World, it's not an exact replica. For instance, Sakura doesn't share the same story as Maeve's daughter. And, even though this part wasn't scripted by Sizemore, there's no Westworld character who is the equivalent of the shogun who takes and kills Sakura.

Knowing that the characters in Westworld and Shogun World aren't identical could mean that there isn't another Dolores. But what's further proof that Dolores is special is her relationship to the park's creators. In Season 1, it was revealed that Dolores is the oldest host still functioning in the park. And — as user pokeman96 on Reddit noted — she could quite possibly be the very first host ever made, which would explain why "The Original" is the name of the first episode of Westworld. Regardless, Arnold gave this early host special treatment and Robert accused Arnold of playing favorites with her during the second episode of Season 5, "Reunion." But there was a good reason for his nepotism; she's the first host that showed signs of consciousness.

John P. Johnson/HBO

But what makes Dolores truly unique is that the Wyatt narrative has been added to her story. Ford's final act before Dolores shot him was to combine her with Wyatt. While it would be a huge twist if Ford manipulated another host from a different park in this way, it's also unlikely. Instead, it seems that one of the show's intentions with the doppelbots was to give a bit of insight into the Delos corporation. The writer of "Akane No Mai," Dan Dietz, said in an interview on the HBO site, "As we started working on the episode, we thought it would be fun if several of the characters in Shogun World were riffs on characters in Westworld. It points to the fact that this is a corporate-created theme park where they have too many stories to create and not enough time to do it."

Dietz also added, "It also gives you the pleasure of watching familiar characters and stories through a completely different lens." To that point, Maeve actor Thandie Newton said in a behind-the-scenes video about creating Shogun World that the doppelbots show how certain human stories are universal. "It's allowing an audience to truly recognize the oneness that we share no matter how your languages differ, how your situations differ," Newton said.

HBO on YouTube

With that being said, could Sizemore still have added a Dolores doppelgänger into Shogun World — a rancher's daughter-like figure with a sweet suitor like Teddy? Absolutely. But it seems that because of the way that Ford and Arnold manipulated Dolores, the Shogun World Dolores wouldn't be anything like her Westworld counterpart — similar to how Maeve has powers that Akane doesn't have. And when you consider the dark and villainous path that Dolores is currently going down, it's probably for the best that there isn't another one of her out there in the parks.